Disney closing ESPN Zone restaurants in Chicago, other cities

June 09, 2010

The Walt Disney Co. is shutting down most of its ESPN Zone restaurants, including the one in Chicago, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The only outlets to remain open are those tied to a Disney property, such as the Downtown Disney shopping district in Anaheim, south of Los Angeles, the source said Tuesday. It was not known when the restaurants would close.

The sports-themed restaurants opened in 1998 to capitalize on ESPN's brand, while bringing Disney's clean, family-friendly sensibilities to the sports bar concept. Disney opened the Chicago location, its second in the country, at 43 E. Ohio St. in 1999.The upscale joints served burgers and brews, as walls of big-screen TVs beamed baseball and other sporting events into the dining area. Separate gaming rooms, dubbed "sports arenas," provided access to interactive games, such as virtual golf and boxing. It would not be uncommon to see children and adults shooting free throws side by side in the Zone.

It's unclear what prompted Disney to close the establishments, although the bars may well be a casualty of the recession. A poll released in March by retail consulting firm AlixPartners found 30 percent of consumers planned to eat out less frequently, and spend less per meal than they did the year before.

Some of the ESPN Zone restaurants were located in high-priced real estate areas, such as Times Square in New York.

"Since their inception, the Zones have served sports fans very well," said Rob Tobias, an ESPN spokesman. "But from a pure business perspective, the economics have been challenging."

Tobias declined to comment further.

Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst for researcher NPD Group, said the restaurant business is undergoing its biggest decline in three decades.

"This year was horrible," Balzer said. "A restaurant meal is a very discretionary behavior. You could always eat at home and save money doing it. And going out for dinner is the most expensive food you could buy."

Balzer said casual dining restaurants such as ESPN Zone have been among the hardest hit, as consumers gravitate to less expensive chains such as Chipotle or Panera Bread, which offer sit-down dining at fast-food prices. ESPN Zone also may have suffered from the problem that afflicted Planet Hollywood -- the novelty simply wore off, he said.

"We love the newness of something," Balzer said. "ESPN had something new. But after a while, there was nothing new. We were here with Planet Hollywood. How many times can you see Marilyn Monroe's dress?"

In addition to Anaheim, Chicago and New York, Disney operates ESPN Zones in Baltimore, Las Vegas and Washington. The company licenses the ESPN Zone to a restaurant at the L.A. Live retail project in Los Angeles. Disney closed Atlanta and Denver locations last year.